India committed to imports-free electronics sector by 2020

Sai Nikesh | The Dollar Business In view of the growing domestic demand and to curb imports in future, the Government of India announced plans to provide proper infrastructure support to the electronic manufacturing sector in the country. In this regard, the government will be investing $10 billion in chip manufacturing facilities coming up in Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh, where a consortium of manufacturing firms have come up to set up the production bases. This was informed by RS Sharma, Secretary, Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DeitY), Government of India, in New Delhi on Thursday. Addressing the first Indian Electronics Expo organised by Electronics and Computer Software Export Promotion Council (ESC), the official also informed India’s move to invest US$ 400 million in developing an Indian version of micro-processor. Speaking at the meet, the official further informed that an Electronic Development Fund (EDF) had been created to make better utilization of venture capital funds to promote more start-ups in the country. Mentioning about the advantages of producing electronic goods in India, Sharma said that India’s technologies hold higher value quotient and also stand in economical margin for many countries that are under same level of development. On account of surging domestic market and infrastructure, the government has facilitated exciting hub for investments in the sector by providing logistic and financial support to the investors from India and even from abroad. The official further hoped that the government’s renewed interest clubbed with initiatives like ‘Make in India’ and ‘Digital India’, will help India in achieving the target of making the electronic sector import-free by 2020. Meanwhile, Vinod Sharma, Chairman of Electronics and Computer Software Export Promotion Council (ESC), says India need to achieve ten-folded growth to fully meet the domestic demand and to further achieve the 2020 target. The Indian Electronics and Semi-Conductors Association (IESA) has signed an agreement with Taiwan’s Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers' Association, over bilateral investments for technology transfer and manufacturing opportunities.  

This article was published on March 27, 2015.